One of my favorite movies (Ambulance movies are few and far between). What I really appreciated about it was that they did it
right ... I've recommended the movie to a lot of EMS people. And nearly everyone picks the same minor detail to explain how good the prep work was ... that one scene, where Frank and Mary are in the back of the bus, and she's banging her head against the padding like every two seconds, and he's just riding along ... knowing how the rig will respond to every bump and turn.
Nicholas Cage's character is THE personification of burn-out. Flashbacks, avoidance, sleeplessness, alcohol and drug abuse.
Not surprisingly, the book is better, but the movie is GREAT. Doesn't have the excitement or sweeping visual spectacle elements of Backdraft, which is THE fire movie, but it's an awesome film with a great soundtrack.